GBH Openvault
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Dawn; Interview with Richard Hottelet, 1986
Part of War and Peace in the Nuclear Age.
04/04/1986
Richard C. Hottelet was a journalist mentored by Edward R. Murrow. He worked for CBS News from 1941-1985. After presenting his early background, the interview turns to his time in Moscow shortly after the war. His impression was one of discouragement air defense was still being conducted and the population was surprisingly anxious and reluctant to speak openly. During his brief stay he conducted a now-famous interview with former Peoples Commissar for Foreign Affairs Maxim Litvinov who gave an unexpectedly grim picture of Soviet intentions. Mr. Hottelet also discusses Joseph Stalins apparent disinterest in the atomic bomb at Potsdam, and disinclination to participate in the Baruch Plan. He contrasts the atmosphere in Moscow and the Soviet leaderships actions in 1946 with the warm interactions between Soviet and Western armies meeting at the Elbe River at wars end. In terms of the arts, Mr. Hottelet recalls the onset of the Zdanovshchina, named after Andrey Zhdanov who was in charge of Soviet cultural policy, which amounted to a cultural revolution designed to place the arts in the service of the regime.
License Clip
- Series
- War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Program
- Dawn
- Program Number
101
- Title
Interview with Richard Hottelet, 1986
- Series Description
The first atomic explosion in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945, changed the world forever. This series chronicles these changes and the history of a new era. It traces the development of nuclear weapons, the evolution of nuclear strategy, and the politics of a world with the power to destroy itself.
In thirteen one-hour programs that combine historic footage and recent interviews with key American, Soviet, and European participants, the nuclear age unfolds: the origin and evolution of nuclear weapons; the people of the past who have shaped the events of the present; the ideas and issues that political leaders, scientists, and the public at large must confront, and the prospects for the future. Nuclear Age highlights the profound changes in contemporary thinking imposed by the advent of nuclear weapons. Series release date: 1/1989
- Program Description
Amid the violence, fear and desperation of World War II, nuclear weapons are created and used for the first time.
“Dawn” traces the development of the first atomic bomb, from 1932 with the ominous rumblings that led to World War II and the ground-breaking scientific experiments that led to the bomb. Atomic physicist Victor Weisskopf explains, “we did not think at all that this business would have any direct connection with politics, or with humanity.” The frantic rush by American scientists who feared the Nazis were ahead of them and the first nuclear explosion in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945 are described by eyewitnesses. Physicist Philip Morrison was ten miles away from the blast and will never forget the heat on his face. “Dawn” concludes with the failure of the first attempts to reach agreement on international control of atomic weapons after the war.
- Duration
01:15:06
- Asset Type
Raw video
- Media Type
Video
- Subjects
- Rosenberg, Ethel, 1915-1953
- Nuclear weapons
- Pasternak, Boris Leonidovich, 1890-1960
- Soviet Union
- World War II
- Communism
- Shostakovich, Dmitrii Dmitrievich, 1906-1975
- Journalists
- Potsdam Conference (1945 : Potsdam, Germany)
- Baruch, Bernard M. (Bernard Mannes), 1870-1965
- Litvinov, M. M. (Maksim Maksimovich), 1876-1951
- Murrow, Edward R.
- Fuchs, Klaus Emil Julius, 1911-1988
- Rosenberg, Julius, 1918-1953
- Akhmatova, Anna Andreevna, 1889-1966
- Kennan, George F. (George Frost), 1904-2005
- United States
- Zoshchenko, Mikhail, 1895-1958
- Pontekorvo, B. (Bruno), 1913-1993
- Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953
- Genres
- Documentary
- Topics
- History
- Science
- War and Conflict
- Global Affairs
- Contributors
- Hottelet, Richard C. (Interviewee)
- Publication Information
- WGBH Educational Foundation
- Citation
- Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Dawn; Interview with Richard Hottelet, 1986,” 04/04/1986, GBH Archives, accessed April 20, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_66B54CE75E2E491AB2E2504C85055C0F.
- MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Dawn; Interview with Richard Hottelet, 1986.” 04/04/1986. GBH Archives. Web. April 20, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_66B54CE75E2E491AB2E2504C85055C0F>.
- APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Dawn; Interview with Richard Hottelet, 1986. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_66B54CE75E2E491AB2E2504C85055C0F